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ED Challenges Trial Court’s National Herald Ruling in Delhi High Court

The agency says the trial judge wrongly treated a police FIR as a prerequisite for prosecuting money laundering.

Overview

  • ED filed a criminal revision petition seeking to set aside the December 16 order that declined cognisance of its PMLA complaint against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others.
  • The trial court held the prosecution was impermissible because it was not founded on a police FIR for a scheduled offence, citing the PMLA scheme, a Supreme Court precedent and FATF principles.
  • The ED argues the law does not require an FIR to trigger PMLA proceedings and that cognisance on a private complaint can validly ground a money-laundering case.
  • The High Court is expected to list the matter next week, while the trial court allowed investigations to continue and noted an EOW FIR registered on October 3, 2025.
  • The ED has cited attached proceeds and recent possession moves over AJL-linked properties—reported at roughly ₹752 crore and about ₹661 crore respectively—as it seeks to preserve assets during appellate review.